"New style" OM603 vacuum pumps may not be "safe"

[speedy300Dturbo]

Hello everyone,

Until a couple days ago, I thought that all OM603 engine mounted vacuum pumps with the four torx screws on the front cover had sealed bearings on the cam drive. This sealed design prevents ball bearings from entering the timing chain cavity in the unlikely event of pump failure.

Please examine the pictures in this thread. There is NO way to visually identify whether or not your "new style" vacuum pump has the sealed bearings by looking at it from the outside unless it has the latest Mercedes part number (000-230-31-65) on it. However, if you buy an OEM Pierburg pump instead of OE Mercedes, the part number will be ground off.

Below are pictures of the original (semi-exposed ball bearings) vacuum pump: